Def Leppard launch their own beer

Def Leppard have joined forces with Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Company to launch their own beer.

The 6% ABV beer is called Def Leppard Pale and features malt bodies that characterise many British ales and Pacific Northwest hops.

The Sheffield rockers unveiled the beer today via a gloriously cheesy promotional video, which sees drummer Rick Allen proclaim “I’m not sure I would necessarily be in Def Leppard had it not been for beer.”

The clip culminates with Rick, Vivian Campbell and Planet Rock’s very own Joe Elliott tasting Def Leppard Pale for the first time.

Def Leppard Pale will be available to buy at most concerts on Def Leppard’s joint North American tour with Journey, starting with the second date in Albany, New York on Wednesday 23rd May. Select restaurants, bars and pubs near the venue will also be selling it.

The beer can be bought on draft and in 455ml cans, which feature a design inspired by Def Leppard’s blockbuster album ‘Hysteria’.

Speaking to Billboard about Def Leppard Pale, Joe Elliott said: “It tastes great – that's the most important thing I can tell you. I would pass on doing an interview about this if I didn't like it. That to me is the most important thing.”

He added, laughing: “We're not going to drink it just because we put our name on it. I don't walk around wearing our f***ing t-shirt.”

Asked about his long term plans for the beer, Joe said: “There's no cut off time on this, if it takes off and people like it, it can be around.

“Iron Maiden has a beer named Trooper and they've done really well with theirs. We have to see if we can match that. It’s been around five years or so by now, so there's a long way to go to keep up with them and all these other people [with branded alcohol such as] Jimmy Buffett.

“We don’t know what kind of legs it's going to have - come back to me in a couple years on that one, I’m not gazing into a crystal ball right now.”

Following their lengthy North American trek with Journey, Def Leppard hit the UK in December for the ‘Hysteria’ arena tour.

It will see Def Leppard perform seminal tracks including ‘Animal’, ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’, ‘Hysteria’, ‘Armageddon It’, ‘Love Bites’, ‘Woman’ and ‘Rocket’ from their 1987 tour-de-force alongside other songs from their incredible back catalogue.